Kerala, a state which has no answers to Islamist radicalisation

When Mohammad Yasin took over as the DGP Intelligence he had said that the biggest challenge in Kerala was Islamist radicalisation. Kerala has witnessed several instances of radicalisation, the rise of Wahhabism, forcible conversions and political killings.

Radicalisation has been in overdrive mode in Kerala. Ironically, there is a street named Gaza at the Thuruthi ward of Kasargod municipality. This was a clear reference to the disputed strip of land between Israel and Palestine.

Intelligence Bureau officials say that the narrative in Kerala is changing for the worse. The Islamist radicalisation in the state is at an all time high. In fact in some pockets, the situation is out of control, they say.

Picture this case from Mallapuram. At a school a few students approached their head master and asked for a change in biology teacher. Why? Because she was a woman.
In another case, a boy returned home and told his parents that he did not want to go to school. I do not want to mix with the other faiths, he also said.

The rise of the Salafi influence in Kerala is going out of hand and this has prompted several Muslim organisations to come forward and find a cure.

The influence from Saudi Arabia and the Wahhabi preachings has done more harm than good to a large section of the youth in the state.

The recent ISIS related cases busted in Kerala have only added to the problems. A batch of nearly 20 people including women, have gone missing and police say that they are all in Afghanistan with a module of the ISIS.

Recently the NIA too busted a major module of the ISIS. It was learnt that members of this module were planning on carrying out knife attacks on moderates.

Parents have been complaining that their children tell them to stop watching television.

Many youth are becoming aggressive and pick up fights with their sisters for their dressing sense. The police and the intelligence bureau say that the youth are being influenced by a mix of Wahhabism and Online Islam.

These websites give out all the wrong ideas to the youth and in turn they have become extremely aggressive. They have started believing that Islam preached online is the way of life.

Moderate Muslims have shunned this concept of online Islam and say that the interpretation of the Quran on these websites is wrong.

The police say that there are several such cases. "Parents must report such incidents early. If they do not want to come to the police they must approach the elders," an officer notes.

However, parents have been slow in reporting such incidents as they fear ostracism.

Some parents also feel that they are likely to be harassed by the agencies. Intelligence Bureau officials in Kerala say that parents must report such matters so that at an early stage their children can be counselled and reformed. "Delaying matters will only worsen it," the IB officer notes.

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